Danielle Forward

Last updated

Danielle Forward is a Makahmo Pomo software designer and entrepreneur, who founded the nonprofit organization Natives Rising aimed to help indigenous people pursue careers in the tech industry. She is also known for her role as an activist for indigenous people. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Danielle Forward is a member of the Makahmo Pomo tribe and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. [1] Raised by a single mother, she witnessed the intergenerational trauma that many indigenous people experience today. Her experience inspired her to want to help other indigenous people. [2]

At Santa Rosa Junior College, Danielle Forward obtained her Associates in Social Behavioral Science and Global Studies. [1] Forward took ten years to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts from California College of the Arts in its interactive design program, working part-time and going into debt in order to finance both her schooling and her living situation in California. [1] [3] She graduated as valedictorian. [2]

Career

Early career

While attending college, Forward worked various jobs to pay for her education. She worked as a personal assistant, barista, GameStop employee, ice cream and smoothie seller, and coder for drug testing data. [1] After graduating from California College of the Arts, she was hired at Meta Platforms as a User Experience/User Interface (UX/UI) Designer, initially on the Connectivity team before moving to the Social Impact team. [4] She stayed at the company for five years, until leaving Meta in 2023 to work on Natives Rising full-time. [2]

Natives Rising

In 2022, Forward teamed up with Betsy Fore and Hannah Cirelli, both indigenous women interested in empowering indigenous Americans, to create Natives Rising. Primarily focused on students and women, Natives Rising provides services for indigenous people to gain access to careers in the technology industry through three programs that are available nationwide: Founders Circle, a Native Women's Tech Fellowship for those pursuing bachelor's degrees, and an Indigenous STEM Camp. [3] [5]

Activism

Building on her involvement as a lead in Meta's employee resource group Native@Facebook, Danielle Forward became involved in advocacy for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). [1] She also currently serves as Head of Design and board member of the nonprofit organization MuralNet, which aims to provide access to broadband internet for tribal communities. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pomo</span> Indigenous Californians

The Pomo are a Native American people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point. One small group, the Tceefoka, lived in the vicinity of present-day Stonyford, Colusa County, were they were separated from the majority of Pomo lands by Yuki and Wintuan speakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria</span> Ethnic group

The Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo people in Sonoma County, California. They are also known as the Kashaya Pomo.

The Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Indians in California. The tribe is currently considered "landless", as they do not have any land that is in Federal Trust. In 2008 they acquired approximately 80 acres (32 ha) of property on the southern end of Cloverdale, California. The property is currently going through the Fee to Trust process to become the tribe's landbase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake</span>

The Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Indians in Lake County, California. The tribe's reservation, the Upper Lake Rancheria, is 119 acres (0.48 km2) large and located near the town of Upper Lake in northwestern California.

Mabel McKay (1907–1993) was a member of the Long Valley Cache Creek Pomo Indians and was of Patwin descent. She was the last dreamer of the Pomo people and was renowned for her basket weaving.

Essie Pinola Parrish (1902–1979), was a Kashaya Pomo spiritual leader and exponent of native traditions. She was also a notable basket weaver.

Rita Pitka Blumenstein was the first certified traditional doctor in Alaska. She worked for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Blumenstein was a member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers—a group of spiritual elders, medicine women and wisdom keepers—since its founding in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Locke</span> Native American educator and activist (1928–2001)

Patricia A. Locke was a Native American educator, activist, and prominent member of the Baháʼí Faith. She worked closely with indigenous activists in supporting the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. After joining the Baháʼí Faith in 1988, she was elected as the first Native American woman to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Schroepfer</span> American businessman

Mike Schroepfer is an entrepreneur, technical architect, climate investor, and philanthropist who was the chief technology officer (CTO) at Meta Platforms between March 2013 and March 2022. In 2022 he took a step back and transitioned to become Senior Fellow at Meta to focus on investing and philanthropic work related to addressing the climate crisis. Schroepfer's current focus is investing in tech and science to fight climate change through his VC firm Gigascale Capital, philanthropic entity Additional Ventures, and as board chair of the Carbon to Sea Initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan Smith</span> American engineer

Megan J. Smith is an American engineer and technologist. She was the third Chief Technology Officer of the United States and Assistant to the President, serving under President Barack Obama. She was previously a vice president at Google, leading new business development and early-stage partnerships across Google's global engineering and product teams at Google for nine years, was general manager of Google.org, a vice president briefly at Google[x] where she co-created WomenTechmakers, is the former CEO of Planet Out and worked as an engineer on early smartphones at General Magic. She serves on the boards of MIT and Vital Voices, was a member of the USAID Advisory Committee on Voluntary Aid and co-founded the Malala Fund. Today Smith is the CEO and Founder of shift7. On September 4, 2014, she was named as the third U.S. CTO, succeeding Todd Park, and serving until January, 2017.

Jessica Sabogal is a queer Colombian-American muralist and stencil spray paint artist who is currently active in the Bay Area. She's best known for her "Women Are Perfect! " visual campaign which she created as an artist in residence in 2014 at the Galeria de la Raza, and she is currently active in the "We The People" public art campaign created in collaboration with Shepard Fairey.

Jean LaMarr is a Northern Paiute/Achomawi artist and activist from California. She creates murals, prints, dioramas, sculptures, and interactive installations. She is an enrolled citizen of the Susanville Indian Rancheria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Gleit</span> American technology executive

Naomi Gleit is head of product at Meta, formerly Facebook. She was previously the vice president of social good, growth, engagement, and identity at the company. She has been identified as Meta's longest-serving employee after CEO Mark Zuckerberg, having been at the company from July 18, 2005 to present.

A member of Standing Rock in North and South Dakota, Phyllis Young has been an American Indian rights activist (Lakota/Dakota) for more than 40 years. She is most widely known for her leadership role in the anti-Dakota Access Pipeline struggle in 2016 and 2017. Young worked for Standing Rock from October 2015 to September 2017, ultimately as an organizer of the Oceti Sakowin Camp, where tens of thousands of protesters—known as “water protectors”—gathered over time to resist construction of the 1,172 mile long oil pipeline.

Jessica Matten is a Canadian actress and film producer.

The Markup is an American nonprofit news publication focused on the impact of technology on society. Founded in 2018 with the goal of advancing data-driven journalism, the publication launched in February 2020. Nabiha Syed is the current chief executive officer and Sisi Wei is the editor-in-chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Masten</span>

Susan Masten of Northern California is a leader with the Yurok tribe and the past Yurok Tribal Chairperson. She is a political activist involved with many tribal and women's issues.

The InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council is a consortium of Northern California tribal nations focused on environmental and cultural preservation. The council, which includes members of 10 federally recognized tribes in Mendocino and Lake counties, has worked to protect lands of cultural importance along the North Coast within the traditional Sinkyone tribal territory since it was established in 1986. Nonprofit and governmental organizations have cooperated with the council in the restoration of property to descendants of its original inhabitants which is part of an effort to return Indigenous lands and autonomy to Indigenous communities. After the invasion of the traditional Sinkyone tribal territory by multitudes of Euro-American settlers in the mid-1850s, Sinkyone people eventually became enrolled members at several tribes located throughout the region. The council is made up of the Cahto Indian Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria, Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, Pinoleville Pomo Nation, Potter Valley Tribe, Redwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians.

Patricia 'Patsy' L. Whitefoot is a member of Yakama Nation, is Indigenous elder, activist and professional educator along with being the traditional food gatherer for the Toppenish Creek Longhouse. She served as the President of the National Indian Education Association and President Obama appointed her as a member of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. She is a prominent advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and Indigenous rights.

Danielle SeeWalker is a self described "artivist," combining art and activism. She is a Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta citizen from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. She is a multimedia artist, and experiments with materials to combine traditional and modern techniques. Her work has been seen at the 2024 Superbowl, on Disney+, and at the Denver Broncos Stadium.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Fast Forward: Facebook Catches a Rising Star - Native Business Magazine". 2022-12-02. Archived from the original on 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  2. 1 2 3 "Danielle Forward: Empowering Indigenous People Through Tech, Entrepreneurship". Nasdaq. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Breen, Amanda (2023-10-09). "She's Making Tech Careers Accessible for Indigenous People". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  4. ↑ "Indigenous Facebook Product Designer Inspires Young Natives to Break Into Tech - Native Business Magazine". 2021-01-24. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  5. ↑ Oxendine, Chez (2023-09-28). "MIT Solve announces 2023 Indigenous Communities fellowship cohort". Tribal Business News. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  6. ↑ "About". MuralNet. 17 April 2024.
  7. ↑ "User Profile | MIT Solve". solve.mit.edu. 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.